Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 03:30:44 GMT
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   <TITLE>About Our Service</TITLE>
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    <!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><!WA0><A HREF="http://www.fiesta.com">
    <!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><!WA1><IMG SRC="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/gif/mc-logo.gif" ALT="" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=74 WIDTH=72>
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    <B><FONT SIZE=+4>M</FONT><FONT SIZE=+3>ETA</FONT><FONT SIZE=+4>C</FONT><FONT SIZE=+3>RAWLER<BR></FONT>
    <FONT SIZE=+2>About Our Service</FONT></B>
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<P>Thank you for using MetaCrawler! We hope that it proves to you to be
a very valuable service, and we are constantly working to improve it. If
you have any questions or comments concerning MetaCrawler, please consult
our FAQ below. If it doesn't contain the answer you're looking for, please
feel free to send mail.
<p>
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<TD cellpadding=5><B>About MetaCrawler</B><BR>
<!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><!WA2><A HREF="#what">What is MetaCrawler?<BR>
</A><!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><!WA3><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/team.html">Who is behind MetaCrawler?<br>
<br>
</A><B>Linking to MetaCrawler</B> <BR>
<!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><!WA4><A HREF="#link">Can I put a MetaCrawler form and logo on my page?<BR>
</A><!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><!WA5><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/register.html">How can I register
my page with you?</A><BR>
</TD>

<TD width=15></TD>

<br><TD><B>Help</B> <BR>
<!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><!WA6><A HREF="#why">Why use MetaCrawler?<BR>
</A><!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><!WA7><A HREF="#how">How does it work?<BR>
</A><!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><!WA8><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/problems.html">Are there any known problems with MetaCrawler?<BR>
</A><!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><!WA9><A HREF="#advanced">How do I refine MetaCrawler searches?<BR>
<BR>
</A><B>Business Relations</B> <BR>
<!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><!WA10><A HREF="#ads">What are your advertising rates?<BR>
</A><!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><!WA11><A HREF="#plans">What are your plans to commercialize the MetaCrawler?</A><BR>
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<CENTER><P><A NAME="what"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>What is MetaCrawler?</I></H3>

<P>MetaCrawler is a free World Wide Web search service. MetaCrawler differs
from other services in that it doesn't maintain any internal database.
Rather, it relies on the databases of various Web based sources. MetaCrawler
sends your queries to several web search engines, including <!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><!WA12><A HREF="http://www.lycos.com">Lycos</A>,
<!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><!WA13><A HREF="http://www.webcrawler.com">WebCrawler</A>, <!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><!WA14><A HREF="http://www.excite.com">Excite</A>,
<!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><!WA15><A HREF="http://www.altavista.digital.com">Alta
Vista</A>, <!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><!WA16><A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo</A>, <!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><!WA17><A HREF="http://www.hotbot.com">HotBot</A>,
and <!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><!WA18><A HREF="http://galaxy.tradewave.com">Galaxy</A>. </P>

<CENTER><P><A NAME="how"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>How does it work?</I></H3>

<P><FONT SIZE=+0>MetaCrawler works by querying a number of existing, free
search engines, organizes the results into a uniform format, and displays
them. With MetaCrawler you also have the option of <I>scoring</I> the hits,
so that the sorted list that is displayed can be sorted by a number of
different ways, such as locality, region, and organization.</FONT></P>

<CENTER><P><A NAME="why"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>Why use MetaCrawler?</I></H3>

<P>MetaCrawler has many useful features which other services either do
not or are unable to provide. These include: </P>

<ul>

<li><DT><B>Complete Coverage</B> </DT>

<DL>
<DT>Each search service tends to produce a fairly unique set of references.
Using the MetaCrawler, you're able to see one page which contains <I>all</I>
of the references from each service -- this way, you won't miss anything!</DT>
</DL>

<li><DT><B>Cutting Edge Technology</B></DT>

<DL>
<DT>MetaCrawler designers have attempted to utilize technology in the most
useful fashion possible. Java, frames, and cookie settings all make our
service better while avoiding the annoying gimmics and annoyances often
associated with these features.</DT>
</DL>

<li><DT><B>Advanced Searching Syntax</B></DT>

<DL>
<DT>MetaCrawler offers a powerful search syntax. In addition to basic <I>any
words</I>, <I>all words</I>, and <I>phrase</I> options,
MetaCrawler recognizes a special search syntax that allows you to describe
your desired results very accurately.
</DT>
</DL>

<li><DT><B>Service Vote Rankings</B> </DT>

<DL><DT>MetaCrawler combines the confidence scores given to each reference
by the services that return it. Thus, when MetaCrawler returns a reference,
it sums the scores given by each service and presents them in a ``voted''
ordering. </DL>
</DL>

<CENTER><P><A NAME="advanced"></a></p></center>

<h3 align=center><i>How do I refine MetaCrawler searches?</i></h3>

<p>One method for getting accurate results from MetaCrawler is to go to the
<!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><!WA19><a href="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/configure.html">configuration page</a> and turn on <em>Extra
Functionality</em>.  This will give you several options not available by
default.</p>
<p>Another method is to use MetaCrawler's advanced search syntax: When you
create a search, specify groups of words by surrounding them in quotes.  Also,
specify words or phrases that must appear in documents by prefixing them with
a plus sign, and prefix words or phrases that must not appear by prefixing
them with a minus sign.</p>
<p>Some advanced search syntax examples:
<ul>
<li>"George Washington" -president
<li>+"Incan civilization" Peru
<li>+football -Americano
<li>"PC operating systems" -windows -microsoft -"Bill Gates"
</ul><p>
Please note that not all sources queried support these features.  They
are, therefore, only suggestions that MetaCrawler will use
when tailoring each source's query.

<CENTER><P><A NAME="link"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>Can I put a MetaCrawler form and logo on my page?</I></H3>

<P>Yes! We are happy to have you link to our page or have a MetaCrawler
form on your page, and you're welcome to use our logo to accent that link
or form as well! You may copy the logo directly from <!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><!WA20><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/gif/mc-logo.gif">mc-logo.gif</A>
(or <!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><!WA21><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/gif/mc-anim2.gif">mc-anim2.gif</A>
for the animated logo).  HTML necessary to embed the MetaCrawler
form on your home page is <!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><!WA22><a href="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/form.txt">here</a>.
The <em>general</em> and <em>iface</em> fields are the only ones required by
MetaCrawler; defaults will be used for any others if they are not specified.

<CENTER><P><A NAME="ads"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>What are your advertising rates?</I></H3>

<P>Please send mail to <!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><!WA23><A HREF="mailto:advertising@metacrawler.com">advertising@metacrawler.com</A>
for info. </P>

<CENTER><P><A NAME="plans"></A></P></CENTER>

<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><I>What are your plans to commercialize MetaCrawler?</I></H3>

<P>MetaCrawler is primarily a research tool. However, we are considering
options to commercialize this technology. Inquiries on commercializing
MetaCrawler should be sent directly to <!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><!WA24><A HREF="mailto:products@metacrawler.com">products@metacrawler.com</A>.
</P><P>
<CENTER><br><B><FONT SIZE=-1><!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><!WA25><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080//">Home</A> &#183; <!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><!WA26><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/configure.html">Configure
</A>&#183; <!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><!WA27><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/about.html">About </A>&#183; <!WA28><!WA28><!WA28><!WA28><!WA28><!WA28><A HREF="http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/problems.html">Problems</A>
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<CENTER><ADDRESS><FONT SIZE=-1><!WA29><!WA29><!WA29><!WA29><!WA29><!WA29><A HREF="mailto:webmaster@metacrawler.com">webmaster@metacrawler.com</A></FONT></ADDRESS></CENTER>

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<FONT SIZE=-2>Copyright &copy; 1996 Erik Selberg, Oren Etzioni and Greg
Lauckhart. All Rights Reserved.</FONT> </P></CENTER>

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